Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced Wednesday that he would object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote in opposition to President Donald J. Trump and in favor of his replacement – President-elect Joe Biden.
It is an action that could spark a contentious floor debate while delaying the inevitable.
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act,” Hawley said in a statement Wednesday.
Hawley said he was concerned that some states “failed to follow their own election laws” and that “I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden.”
Pro-Trump Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) welcomed Hawley and then tweeted, “I’m not going back to yesterday’s Republican Party. THIS IS DONALD TRUMP’S PARTY.”
Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki responded to Hawley’s claims saying, “the American people spoke resoundingly in this election” and that the role of Congress is “merely a formality. It certainly should be treated as such.”
Psaki added, “Regardless of whatever antics anyone is up to on January 6, President-elect Biden will be sworn in on the 20th.”
Trump and his loyalists have so far not agreed on the presidential election results that proclaimed President-elect Joe Biden the 2020 contest winner.
On Sunday, the 74-year-old president tweeted, “See you in Washington, DC, on January 6th. Don’t miss it.”
He repeated the same sentiment days later on Dec. 30.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), though, has broken rank with the current administration on acknowledging Biden’s presidential victory.
“Any member of the House, joined by a member of the Senate, can contest the electoral votes on Jan. 6. The challenge prompts a floor debate followed by a vote in each chamber,” The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. “Trump will inevitably lose that vote, given that Democrats control the House and a number of Senate Republicans have publicly recognized Biden’s victory, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who has called Trump’s refusal to accept the election dangerous.”
If Trump’s temper tantrum ultimately prevailed in the Senate where Vice President Pence would be in position to cast a tie-breaking vote, the Democratic-controlled House would halt any further action benefiting the current administration and thus hand another victory to Biden.